Mechanical stereoscopic training device



Jan. 9, 1940. e. L MANDAVILLEY MECHANICAL smnEqscoPIc TRAINING DEVICEFiied May 1, 1936 S SheetS -Sheet 1 Jan; 9, 1940.

G. L. MANDAVILLE MECHANICAL STEREOSCOPIC TRAINING DEVICE Filequa 1, 1936s Sheets-Sheet '2 'U:I:+E.

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6&1}. MmZavtZZe nil Patented an. 9, 1940 NirEo STATES" MECHANICAL STEREOoorro TRAINING DEVICE Gurney L. Mandaville, Fort-Pierce, Fla. 7Application May "1, 1936, Serial No. 77,412

' 15 Claims. (01. 128- 465) My invention is an apparatus which has beendesigned for the purpose of equalizing and normalizing the action of themotor muscles of the human eye to synchronize or coordinate with thefunction known as accommodation (in optical terms it is an instrument tobring about coordination between accommodation and. converence). I I IPrimarily, the invention has for its object to 1 provide a simple,practical and inexpensive -apparatus for the purpose stated in which theobject is effectually accomplished by the use of prisms in revolvingcylinders, two of which rotate in the same direction with the basesplaced I; at approximately thesame angle from the cen-' ter, i. e., basedown and base up, which cylinders are moved one at a time, giving a stepmotion, one in advance and the other is brought up to it with the secondmovement, together with a second set of two revolving cylinders whichare directly geared together, causing themto rotate in oppositedirections. These latter cylinders are fitted with prismatic lenses withtheir bases set so, that as they rotate, base in and baseout, prismaticaction is caused. v

A furtheraobjectof the invention is to provide means to rotate thecylindersin their sockets or bearings by means of gears and a powertransmitting drive from a motor, there being included means which makesit possible to rotate two of the cylinders in either direction, asdesired, or'to revolve the same a certain number of times in onedirection and then, automatically reverse the direction of rotation andrevolve them in opposite direction. I I Further, it is an object toprovide means whereby additional lenses or prisms can be added to themechanical combination'and by the use of ordinary stereoscopicphotographs or fusion cards it is possible to bring a coordinatingrelationship between convergence and accommodation.

A further object is to provide an instrument for the purpose statedwhich can be used witha single picture or target or as a stereoscopewith double pictures or targets. I

Again, it is an object to provide an instrument of the character statedWith a lamp for illuminating the pictures or targets and to provideforthe adjustment of the target holder sothat it may be set at acomfortable distancefrom eye to object.

Other objects will inpart be obvious and in .part generally pointed outhereinafter. I I I the aforesaid objects and ends, the inventionstillfurther residesin' those To the attainment of novel details ofconstruction,combination and arrangement of-part's, all of which willbefirst fully described inthe following detailed description, then bepointed out in the-appended claims, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which: Figure .1 is a perspective view of .myinvention. igur e '2 isca partside elevation and part section of thesame, one of the side covers being removed. I

Figure 3 is a front elevation of thetrainirig'instrument proper. I I

Figure l is rear elevation of the same. Figure 5 is a front elevation ofthe same, the

front cover being removed.

lligure 6 is'a verti ca l section'on the line 66,

. F fii I i Figure 7is a detail elevation of portions of the rear ringgears andcylinders and the crank shaft and double pawl which rotates thesaidc ylinders. Figure 8 is a detail-section onthe line 8-8 of Figure 9is a detail section on an enlarged scale taken approximately on the line9-9 of 'Fig- I ure 2. I I Q Figure 1 0 is a detail section on the lineIllill of Figure 9.

Figures 11, 12 and 13 are detail elevations of parts of the timermechanism later referred to. In the drawings, in which like numerals ofreference indicate like parts in'all of the figures,

I is a suitable skeleton-like-frame having a space between its legs andbeing suitably mounted on a base}, Side covers or closuresfiassociatedwith the'frame I serve to enclose the motor and operating parts of themachine.

The frame! has a chambered neck 4, which neck is inclined to thehorizontal, say preferably at an angle of 60. The neck 4. carriesjatubular whose axis lies in the central longitudinal head 5 plane of theframe and at an angle of approximately to the horizontalp The chamber 1of the, neck adjacent the head is laterally en-. larged by the bulges e*(seeFigure 1') in order to accommodate the sliding bearing l8hereinafter again referred to. 1 i

Located in theneck l is a=slotted guide 8 for the bearing l8 and a slot9 in the frame I permits communication between: the chamber 1 and thespace or chamber l0 betweenthecovers An electric motor ll of I I Ilocated in the chamber JGand has its shaft I2 coupled to'the articulateddriving shaft [3-14 by bevel or other suitable gears 84;

anysuitable kind is The shaft section 13 is journalled in suitable fixedbearings 16-11 and is connected to the shaft section 16 by a universaljoint 15. The shaft section 14 is journalled in the shiftable bearing 18hereinbefore mentioned and carries a bevel gear 26 which may be broughtinto mesh alternately with the gears 21-22 on the shaft 23. The shaft 23is journalled in bearings 24 in the head 5 and carries one element of aseparable coupling 18 hereinafter again referred to.

The shaft bearing 13 is shiftable to cause the gear 26 to mesh witheither gear 2| or 22 through the medium of a bell crank is which in turnis actuated by a crank 21 on the shaft 26 of a timer 25, through aconnecting rod 65.

The timer 25 is best shown in Figures 2 and 9 to 13, inclusive, byreference to which it will be observed that the timer includes asuitably mounted frame composed of said plates held in spaced relationand provided with bearing apertures for the crank shaft 26. Locatedbetween the plates and rotatably mounted on the shaft 26 is a gear orratchet wheel 28 which has an eccentric collar 26 in which is located aspring 35, one end of which is connected to the collar and the other endto the shaft 26. Mounted on the collar 26 is a ring 3| having lugs 32disposed at diametrically opposite points. These lugs move in radiallydisposed slots 33 in one of the side plates of the timer.

Pinned or otherwise secured to the shaft 26 is a stop cam 34 whose noseengages the lugs 32 as stops in a manner which will later more fullyappear; (See Figures 2 and 9.)

Pivoted on the shaft 26 by the bearing ends 31 is a rocker arm 36 whichcarries a roller 38 that engages a cam 52 on the shaft section 13. Aspring pressed pawl 39 carried by the arm 36 continuously engages theratchet28 (see Figure 10) In order to hold the arm 36 in an inoperative'or in an operative position, a rod '40 passes through a hole in theframe 1 and at its inner side it is connected to the arm 36 while itsouter "end is threaded to receive an adjusting nut 44.

A spring 42 and a'collar 63 continuously urge the rod 48 toward thelever 36, thereby to hold the roller 38 in contact with the cam 52 whenthe nut 44 is loosened.

A lamp base or reflector holder 45 is secured in the rear end of thehead 5 and carries a reflector 66 and lamp 41. Current conducting wires49 connect the lamp with a switch 58 and lead-in wires 5| to conduct thecurrent from an external source (not shown) to the motor II and switch58 inany approved way.

A channel 48 maybe drilled in the neck 4 to pass the wires from thesocket 45 into the chamber 1 from whence they may pass down through theslot 9 into the chamber 2, etc.

The training instrument proper 53 which comprises an important part ofthe invention is best illustrated in Figures 1 to 8 inclusive byreference to which it will be seen that a suitable case is providedwhich may consist of a base 54, a front cover 55 and a back'cover 56.The covers and base are held in assembled relation by friction or in anyother suitable way.

The base 54 has suitable bearings 51 for the front ring gear cylinders66 and the front gear case55 has openings 58 for the same.

The rear cover 56 has bearings 59 for the rear ring gear cylinders 65(see Figure 8).

The front ring gears 6| have the spaces 62 between adjacent teeth formedto receive the pins 14 on the rotating gear 13. The gear 13 is mountedon and turns the crank shaft 18 whose crank 1! carries the double pawl12 which operates the rear ring gears 66.

The front cylinder 66 carries prisms 63 which are arranged in the samerelative positions in their respective cylinders, and the cylinders 66are turned by the pins 14 one at a time giving a step motion to thecylinders one in advance of the other, the other being brought up to thefirst cylinder with the second movement.

The rear cylinders 65 have prisms 66 and are directly geared together(see Figure 7) so as to rotate in opposite directions (the frontcylinders 68 are rotated in the same direction). The bases of the prisms68 are set relatively opposed,'i. e., the bases are adjacent when theparts are positioned as in Figure '1 or the apexes are adjacent when theparts are moved to the position shown in Figure 4.

The front of the instrument 53 is provided with a hood or vizor 64 whilethe cover 56 has a rear extension that is provided with grooved holders61 for auxiliary lenses or prisms 68 (see dotted lines Figure 4) ifdesired.

Power is transmitted from the shaft 23 to the shaft 16 by means of astub shaft 16 and a coupling member 16 through a gear 15, the shaft 16being journaled in a bearing 11 of base 5 1 of the case. The bearing 11is secured, in any suitable way, in the front end of the tubular head 5(see Fi ure 1).

Glasses 86 may be held over the openings 58 by ring plates 13, ifdesired.

The target 83 is carried by the wire brackets 82 on the cross bar 8|that is slidably adjustably held on the slideway or bar 88 which isattached to the inclined part 81 of the frame I.

Operation Assume the nut 44 has been slacked off sufficiently to enablethe roller 36 to engage the lowest part of the cam 52, upon closing thecircuit at switch 56 the motor II will be set to run and light 41 willbe energized. With the parts positioned as shown in Figure 2, if themotor is running in the direction of the arrow on its shaft 1 I inFigure 2, the gears 20 and 2| being in mesh, the shaft 23 will be turnedin the direction of the arrow on gear 15 in Figure 5 which in turn turnsthe shaft 16 in a clockwise direction in Figure 5 (counterclockwise inFigure 7) thereby imparting a step-by-step movement to the gears 6ialternately in the direction of the arrow in Figure 5. At the same timethe pawl 12 imparts a stepbystep movement to the gears 66 in thedirection of the arrows in Figure '1- As the shaft l3 rotates, cam 52will rock lever 36 which, for each rotation of the cam 52, advances theratchet 28 a predetermined distance. As the ratchet 28 is advanced, the,spring is wound up and, twice in each revolution of the ratchet 28, theeccentric collar 31 causes the lug 32, against which the nose of the cam36 is resting, to be moved out of the way and thus permits spring 35 tofunction, thereby rotating the shaft 26 one-half turn and causing crank21 to actuate the lever l9, through rod 85, and shaft gear 26 over fromone gear 21 to the other gear 22 (or vice versa, as the case may be) andthus reverse the rotation of the shaft 23 and the parts of theinstrument proper 53 operated from such shaft.

When it is desired to rotate the prisms continuously, i. e. withoutreverse action, the nut 44 is tightened sufficientlyto hold-the roller38 out of the-path of thecamiZ. I

It has been found that a greater stimulation to the nerveinnervationand' a more rapid building up of-coordination betweenaccommodation and convergence of the human eyes is obtained by anintermittent or jump motion and for this reason my invention providesfor the twodistinct movements aforesaid that cause the desired prismaticaction. When in the claims I refer to a training instrument proper Idesire that thatterm be taken to refer to the instrument shown inFigures 3 to 8, inclusive, or the equivalent thereof From the foregoingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it isthought that the complete construction, opera tion and advantages of myinvention will be readily understood bythose skilled in the art.

I claim:-

1. In an instrument of the character de scribed, apair of frontprism-carrying cylinders, and .a pair of rear prism-carrying cylinders,the front cylinders beingin ones, cooperatively arranged prisms in theseveral cylinders, means for imparting an intermittent rotation tothefrontcylinders in the same direction, and means to impart rotation tothe rear cylinders in opposite directions in unison.

2. In an instrument of the character described, a

a pair of front prism-carrying cylinders, and a pair of rearprism-carrying cylinders, the front cylinders being in alignment withthe rear ones, cooperatively arranged prisms in the several cylinders,means for imparting an intermittent rotationto the front cylinders inthe same direction,-one in advance of the other, and means to impartrotation 'tothe site directions in unison.

3. In an instrument of the character described, a pair of'frontprism-carrying cylinders and a pair of rear prism-carrying cylinders,the front cylinders being in alignment with the rear ones, cooperativelyarranged prisms in the several cylinders, means for imparting anintermittent rotation to the front cylinders in the same direction, andmeans to impart an intermittent rotation tothe rear cylinders inopposite directions in unison. I

4. In an instrument of the character described, a pair of frontprism-carrying cylinders and a pair of rear prism-carrying cylinders,the front cylinders being in alignment with the rear ones, cooperativelyarranged prisms in the several cylinders, means for imparting anintermittent rotation to the front cylinders in the same direction, onein advance of the other, and means to impart an intermittent rotation tothe rear cyl-v inders in opposite directions in unison.

5. In apparatus of the class described, a case,

a pair of front cylinders rotatably mounted in.

the case, a pair of rear cylinders rotatably mounted in the case inalignment with the pair of front cylinders, prisms carried by the frontcylinders and arranged with their apexes pointing in ap.

proximately the same direction, prisms carried by the rear cylinderswith their bases set opposite one another, and means to rotate saidfront cylinders in the same direction at different times and to rotatethe rear cylinders in opposite directions. v 6. In apparatus of theclass described, a, case, a pair of front cylindersrotatably mounted inthe case, a pair of rear cylinders rotatably mounted in the case inalignment with the pair of alignment with the rear rear cylinders inoppo .ating. the instrument,

inders and arranged with their apexes pointing I in-approximately thesame direction, prisms carried by the rear cylinders with their .basesset opposite one another, means to rotate said front cylinders in-thesame direction at different times and to rotate the rear cylinders inopposite directions,and means toreverse the direction of rotation of thefront cylinders without effecting the rotation of the rear cylinders.

- '7. 'I n an instrument of the character stated, a case, two sets ofprisms in revolving cylinders mounted within the case one set behind theother, means to rotate one set of said cylinders in the same directionwith the prisms placed therein in approximately the same positions,means to rotate the otherset of cylinders in unison in oppositedirections, the prisms in said other set of cylinders being so settherein that their bases will be opposed to one another as said othercylinders-rotate, for purposes described. .8. In an instrument of thecharacter stated, a case,. a front pair and a rear pair of prisms inrevolving cylinders mounted within the case, means to rotatethe frontone: at a time, step-by-step, of the other, in the same direction, theprisms of the front pair being located in like positions in their.respective cylinders, means to rotate the rear pair of cylinders inunison in opposite directions, the prisms in said rear pair of cylindersbeing located in Opp sed positions within'their respective cylinders,substantially as specified.

9.111 apparatus of the class described, a supporting frame, a traininginstrument proper mounted on 'the'frameand including a stub shaft,

a target mounted on the frame in aposition so power transmittingconnections between said motor and said stub shaft for oper- V and meansto shift said connections at timed: intervals toreverse the direction ofrotation of said stub shaft for the pur- 7 poses described.

10. In apparatus of the class described, a supporting frame, a traininginstrument proper mounted on the frame and including a stub shaft, atarget mounted on the frame in a position so as to be Viewed through thetraining instrument proper, a motor, power transmitting'connectionsbetween said motor and said stub shaft for operating the instrument,means to shift said connections at timed intervals to reverse thedirection of rotation of said stub shaft, said last named meansincluding a shiftable gear and a jump action timer for effecting a quickshifting of said gear at stated intervals. I

11; In apparatus of the class described, a supporting frame, a traininginstrument proper mounted on the frame and including a stub shaft, atarget mounted on the frame in aposition so as to be viewed through thetraining'instrument proper, a'motor, power transmitting connectionsbetween said motor and said stub shaft for operating the instrument,means to shift said connections at timed intervals to reverse thedirectionof rotation of said stubshaft, said training instrument alsoincluding av case, prismsin disposed therein in approximately the samerelative positions, means to rotate the other pair of cylinders inunison in opposite directions-"the prisms in said other pair ofcylinders beingopposed to one another, the first pair of prisms beinglocated in front of the other pair, substantially as specified.

12. In apparatus of the class described, a supporting frame, a traininginstrument proper mounted on the frame and including a stub shaft, atarget mounted on the frame in a position so as to be viewed through thetraining instrument proper, a motor, power transmitting connectionsbetween said motor and said stubshaft for operating the instrument,means to shift said connections at timed intervals to reverse thedirection of rotation of said stub shaft, said last named meansincluding a shiftable gear and a jump action timer for effecting a quickshifting of said gear at stated intervals, said training instrument alsoincluding a case, prisms in revolving cylinders mounted in the case,means to rotate a pair of said cylinders, one at a time, stepby-step,and one in advance of the other in the same direction with the prismsdisposed therein in approximately the same relative positions, means torotate the other pair of cylinders in unison in opposite directions, theprisms in said other pair of cylinders being relatively opposed tooneanother, the first pair of prisms being located in front of the otherpair, substantially as described.

13. In apparatus of the class described, a supporting frame, a traininginstrument proper mounted on the frame and including a stub shaft, atarget mounted on the frame in a position so as to be viewed through thetraining instrument proper, a motor, power transmitting connectionsbetween said motor and said stub shaft for operating the instrument,means to shift saidconnections at timed intervals to reverse thedirection of rotation of said stub shaft, said last named meansincluding a shiftable gear and a jump action timer for effecting a quickshifting of said gear at stated intervals, and means to render saidtimer inactive at will.

*1 14;"In apparatus of the class described, a supporting frame, atraining instrument proper mounted on the frame and including a stubshaft, a target mounted on the frame in a position so as to be viewedthrough the training instrument proper, a motor, power transmittingconnections between said motor and said stub shaft for operating theinstrument, means to shift said connections attimed intervals to reversethe direction of rotation of said stub shaft, said last named meansincluding a shiftable gear and a jump action timer for effecting a quickshifting of said gear at stated intervals, said training instrument alsoincluding a case, prisms in revolving cylinders mounted in the case,means to rotate a pair of said cylinders, one at a time, step-by-step,and one in advance of the other in the same direction with the prismsdisposed therein in approximately the same relative positions, means torotate the other pair of cylinders in unison in opposite directions, theprisms in said other cylinders being set relatively opposite to oneanother, the first pair of prisms being located-in front of the otherpair, and means to render said timer inactive at will.

15. In an instrument of the character stated, a case, prisms inrevolving cylinders mounted within the case, means to rotate a pair ofsaid cylinders, oneat a time, step-by-step, and one in advance of theother, in the same direction with the prisms placed therein inapproximately the same relative positions, means to rotate two othercylinders in unison in opposite directions, the prisms in said otherpair of cylinders being set relatively opposite to one another, thefirst pair of prisms being located in front of the other pair, andauxiliary lens holders on the rear of the case to receive auxiliarylenses to cooperate with the rotating prisms.

GURNEY L. MANDAVILLE.

